I am a big tennis fan and a big Serena Williams fan, so I loved reading about her in Citizen. The line that struck me as being one of the most powerful lines in the book so far was, ¨She has grown up another decides, as if responding to the injustice of racism is childish and her previous demonstration of emotion was free-floating and detached from any external actions by others¨ (35).
I am a bit puzzled as to what to think about this line, which is why it is powerful to me. Although I do believe that some of the unfortunate calls against Serena have been because of her attitude, I think race has something to do with it also.
The commentator who said that Serena has grown up was not in the wrong though. Take Arthur Ashe for example, he was the epitome of a gentleman on the tennis court because he knew he had to be. I think Serena is just recently figured out that if she wants to be treated with the respect she deserves, it does her no good to have outbursts on the court, even if these outbursts are prompted by racism by linesmen. Serena´s reactions to these poor calls may have been justified, but they diminished the tennis communities respect for her.
I do not watch tennis, so I had no idea this had ever happened. I appreciated that you added your personal insight on the issue. It helped me understand the issue more.
ReplyDeleteYou bring up an interesting perspective and I agree with the question in your title, in that it could really go either way. On one hand I totally applaud Serena for getting mad when she should, especially if she thinks a bad call was racially provoked, but then I also see what you're saying about how she needs to act more professional and polite, especially if she wants more respect. It's an interesting situation and question.
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